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Is that a fingerprint scanner on your HTC One Max?

Electronics manufacturers have been equipping their products with fingerprint scanners for years now. In the smartphone industry, Motorola fitted a fingerprint sensor on the 2011 Atrix 4G, though it gave up on the technology for the second generation of the device.

Still, nobody got it right so far, and, as a result, fingerprint-based authentication has failed to make a meaningful impact in the market. We might be on the cusp of a fingerprint technology revival, though. Due in September, the next iPhone is expected to feature a fingerprint scanner, while the Android camp could strike back through a surprise player – HTC.

The image above surfaced on the Chinese website ePrice, which you may know as a frequent source of leaked information. The shot appears to depict, from left to right, the three members of the HTC One family: the One Mini, One, and One Max.

The striking feature of the alleged One Max is the black square beneath the camera module, which ePrice claims is a fingerprint scanner. Another curious feature is the contacts you can see on the bottom right side of the Max, which could be some sort of dock connector.

Assuming that the image is legit, what would the fingerprint sensor on the HTC One Max serve for? The obvious application is device security and authentication: fingerprint scanning could replace pattern or PIN unlock, but also passwords for some applications.

Moreover, at 6-inch, the HTC One Max is likely to be sold as a productivity device, so the inclusion of a hard to defeat biometric scanner should appeal to the business crowd.

Another thing to note is the fact that HTC marketing executive Jeff Gordon publicly shot down the supposed press shots of the One Max that @evleaks provided, which did not include a fingerprint scanner.